Holiday Arts and Crafts Bazaar
Saturday, November 20, 9 AM – 4 PM
Three Rivers Memorial Building
Free Admission
Hot Food
Drinks
Bake Sale
Door Prizes
Handmade Gifts
50 booths
Auction
Rummage Sale
Getting Ready for another show
It is Show Season – one per weekend through December 11! This is what it looks like to prepare for a show after doing 2 already (or was it one and just feels like 2?) Packaging prints and cards, pricing everything, getting the right mix of merchandise for the crowd (anyone have a crystal ball I can borrow??), remembering all the little hooks, hangers, bits and pieces of the display systems. . . you’d think I would have this all figured out. The truth is that every single show is different. Repeat shows also feel brand new each time because sometimes we are placed in new locations and merchandise varies from year to year. I am a bit spoiled since doing more Three Rivers shows than any other town. If I forget something, I race back to the studio and get it!
First Saturday, November 6
There is a wonderful studio and gallery in Three Rivers. It belongs to the versatile artist, Wendy McKellar and it is called “Colors”. ( 41763 Sierra Drive, on the river side of the highway just upstream from Sierra Subs) I have the privilege of sharing a little real estate with Wendy on the upcoming First Saturday – look for the canopy out front!
Main Gallery
A new art co-operative gallery will open in Visalia on November 1, 2010. The address is 209 W. Main Street and there are 23 very fine artists participating. It is a privilege to be showing with these folks, some of whom I have known for many years. Our plan is to be open in November and December, and then re-evaluate. The space is large, well lit and in the heart of downtown Visalia. (For those of you familiar with Visalia, it is in the same block as Brown’s Shoe Fit Co. and a few doors east of Pacific Treasures and Gourmet, same side of the street.)
Happy Centennial, Kaweah P.O.!
The party was well attended. Very well attended! Here is one area – isn’t that the cutest little building with the grandest oak tree?
I only brought art with Three Rivers as the subject. Almost everything Kaweah Post Office sold.
The stick is where the mailbag hangs so the horse-riding mail carrier can grab it quickly. There were a couple of demonstrations, but I was selling art and missed both. (Don’t you just hate that??)
This might be the only photo I got without people wandering past!
This is the Postmistress, Miss Ida Purdy. Can’t remember the years she served but we obviously had a bit of time travel today!
Kaweah Post Office
This charming landmark up the North Fork of the Kaweah is probably the most photographed, drawn and painted building in the Three Rivers area! The Post Office began service in 1890, but the building itself is 100 years old this year. On October 23, there will be a 10K run and 5K walk at the bottom of Lake Kaweah, with net profits going to support the Kaweah Post Office. In addition, there will be a celebration at the post office itself, from 10-4. To quote the Kaweah Commonwealth, “It will be a day of food, fun, music, and history. And, best of all, the centennial event will help raise funds for the preservation of the historic post office. A wholesome experience awaits all who attend this Centennial Celebration where past and present meet.”
Mural Celebration!
It was hot, reallly really hot.
If it hadn’t been my mural, I doubt I would have braved the heat, but these folks were hardier than that!
Mickey gave a thorough history on the Mt. Whitney Power Co. and the dams in Mineral King. I hadn’t settled in yet and was hanging out in the back with my friend from the Three Rivers Post Office, so I had this nice view of the group.
When Mickey passed the mike to me, I asked the crowd if I could photograph them for the blog. I love doing that – it always makes people smile. Besides, who would have the courage to say “NO DON”T DO THAT”?
I told a few things about how the mural idea happened, a few facts about the dam at Franklin Lake, and a few stories about painting the mural. I said a pile of “Thank Yous” to the wonderful folks who helped make this mural happen. We ate some REALLY good food (that tri-tip from Exeter Meats was so tender it was easy to eat with a plastic fork!!). We even square-danced a bit – it was much cooler standing up away from the tables after dark, and Paul Pfeninger is a terrific caller! I got to catch up with lots of friends (including Ron Hughart, famous local author) and made a new friend, Matthew, who is also a painter. Despite the heat, it was a lovely evening!
CELEBRATION!
September 30, 6 p.m. at the new mural – a CELEBRATION! Men + Mules + Water + Power is on E Street in Exeter, between Pine and Palm Streets. The celebration will consist of dinner (free!), some speech-making (not too much) and a square dance! BRING YOUR OWN CHAIRS. Questions? Email or call me. See you there!
First Saturday, September 4, “Harvest”
First Saturday, September 4, “Harvest”
Ever heard of The Cort Gallery? It is at 41881 Sierra Drive (river side of the highway) in Three Rivers. It is a little hard to see because the trees obscure the building, but it is worth the time to find. Gary Cort designed this building with rotating walls that swing open to the outside. He is a talented architect and artist with whimsical ink drawings. He invited me and one of my drawing students, Char Prazak, to show our pencil artwork with him on Saturday – a black, white, and shades of gray kind of event! You may remember Char’s work from a previous blog entry; here it is again:
To preview some of the participants in First Saturday September, go here: 1st Saturday in Three Rivers